Red Robin: Meeting Batwoman
by Vinnie Warlock
Summary: Red Robin rescues a fellow superhero.


Meeting Batwoman

**RED ROBIN – Meeting Batwoman**

by Vinnie Warlock

September 2010

* * *

**Description:** Red Robin rescues a fellow superhero.

**Characters: **- Tim Drake Wayne (Red Robin), Tam Fox, Kate Kane (Batwoman)./ Jake Kane, Lucius Fox (Cameos)

**Timeline:** Past Red Robin"The Hit List", before Batwoman #1

**Disclaimer:** DC Comics own all the characters.

* * *

[Gotham City – Somewhere in the rooftops of the Garment district]

**Timothy Drake Wayne **liked the month of September in Gotham City. The steamy humidity of the summer was completely gone, and the temperature wasn't so high, and didn't get much cold. It was just perfect for his nocturnal crime-fighting routine. He was fully adapted to his identity as **Red Robin**, and after having taken down the corrupt cops that were trying to ignite a new gang war in Chinatown, he became fairly known in the city. Of course, the Gazette's front page of him taking down Lynx and Scarab also helped the public to recognize the city's newest caped crusader.

'_At Least Dr. Mid-Nite didn't kick my ass_' he thought, remembering his videocall with the JSA earlier that day. He was slightly apprehensive that the superhero physician would take offense on his suit being very similar to his, but the Doc took it very well, even cracking up a joke about Red Robin's good taste in clothes...

Overall, things were looking up to him lately... first, he had saved Bruce's legacy from Ra's Al Ghul, second, Dick and the rest of the League finally deducted that Bruce was still alive and lost in time. Of course, if they had listened to him in the first place, they would not need almost an year to find that out... and third, and most important, he had Tam. Lucius' daughter was the best thing to come out of this whole ordeal. She was the light that brought him back to Batman's way, when he had gone against everything that Bruce had taught him in his unholy alliance with the League of Assassins.

His thoughts of his _Ebony Beauty_ were interrupted by the distinct sound of sub-machine gun shots, captured by the experimental audio capture network that Batman had secretly built in the city during the reconstruction, one of the many projects that just a handful of people, not including the current Dark Knight, knew about it. Of course, Tim would change that, as soon as he had his fail-safe protocols built-in. The network was a huge privacy violation, and Dick might want to shut down the whole thing instead of using it. Tim however, had no problem using the tools at his disposal in order to succeed in his crusade against crime... then perhaps, he should keep this little secret from Dick and _the hobbit_... Checking on his gauntlet computer, he pinpointed the origin of the disruption, and turning off the link to his HUD lenses, he checked the wind on the built in sensor, the readings in his lenses. (he had the featured added after his embarrassing landing in Chinatown, which he still blames Damian for...)

– "Ok, Lets give this another try..." - Red Robin said to himself, as he jumped off the building.

He grabbed his cape, letting the electric charge run trough the material, making it rigid to form a glider, as he stopped descending and flew up, propelled by his momentum and the wind. Batman had been the one who talked him into using the cape as a glider, and Red Robin was glad he did it, because it was so much faster to cross the city flying. As he passed the buildings heading into the Narrows, the Crimson Knight saw flashes on a warehouse that should be dark at that time. He zoomed in with his lenses and changed to thermal vision. He immediately identified a dozen individuals inside the building, one of them obviously fighting the others.

The individual that was fighting the others wasn't a ordinary person, as Red Robin noticed the way she moved. He took a moment to send an alert signal to Gotham PD, and using his grappling gun, he jumped from roof to roof. Trough the roof windows, Red Robin saw **Batwoman** seeking cover behind some crates as a bunch of henchmen with Uzis and AK-47s shot at her. She was fast and knew how to use her surroundings, and moving quickly, she used her stun gun to take two of the thugs, before one of them pulled a Stinger...

– "Oh, Shit!" - Red Robin exclaimed, as the guy launched a missile against the bat-heroine.

Immediately springing into action as the missile exploded. He jumped trough the glass, trowing smoke grenades. The thugs were caught by surprise and were blinded by the dark smoke. They all fell prey to the Crusader, as Red Robin took them down hard and fast. He looked towards the explosion site with his special lenses, and caught sight of his fellow hero's hand out of a pile of debris. Deciding that he didn't have any time to loose, he used his new web-nets; he grabbed the disks from his arsenal and threw one against each fallen criminal. The disk, once activated sprung several lines that in contact with the body, enveloped it and released a foam that expanded quickly and became hard as concrete in seconds, trapping their victims for a couple of hours, more than enough time for Gotham's Finests to arrest them.

Red Robin then rushed to Batwoman. He moved out the debris on top of her, and saw the redhead super-heroin unconscious. The Knight checked her pulse, and made sure that she was alive. She was bleeding, and needed medical attention. Knowing where he was and what his resources where, he used his comm and called the one person he could count on at that time..

- _== Hello? ==_ - Her soothing voice answered.

– "Tam, I need you to do something for me" - Tim said...

* * *

[Half an hour later, on Tim Wayne's Port Adams Penthouse]

Everything in the mind of **Tamara Fox** dictated that she should be surprised. But she knew better, so, when Red Robin showed up with an injured and unconscious Batwoman in a _borrowed_ van in the garage, she simply came out the lift with the stretcher, and watched as the Crimson Knight put the redhead super-heroine on it, wheeling her into his apartment. Tim Wayne's Penthouse in the historic Port Adams district was a old sweat shop building turned into a luxury condo, where he was the sole tenant, and his _fiancé_, of course...

Since Timothy pulled his ruse on Vicki Vale, and had to keep the crutches act for an year, she had moved in with him, to keep the appearances of him not being able to living alone. Naturally, there were benefits into moving with her "fiancé", one of them being that she didn't have to make excuses to her sister or to her father so that she could spend the nights with her hero. And the location was perfect, as Tim could access the freeway in a minute and was just a few blocks from the skyscrapers from the Garment District, and also not too far from the rehabilitation clinic that he had to attend to keep up pretenses for the next 12 months.

Timothy wheeled the Batwoman on his sickbay, and the computer started running a full scan of her body. After being on the brink of death more times than he would like to count on the past year, Wayne had learned to appreciate the value of a state-of-the-art medical room, and he made sure to have the most advanced medical technology in his _Red Bunker _(as Tam had dubbed his new base of operations).

– "How is she?" - Tam asked, looking at the dried blood on Batwoman's abdomen.

– "She will survive." - he said, as he removed the damaged pieces of Batwoman's armor. - "Tam, hand me that scalpel there."

Tamara did as she was asked, and she watched as Red Robin cut the opening in the armor, enough to leave the injury fully visible. She observed as he applied some sort of spray, and then prepared a syringe with some sort of anesthetic to inject her. Batwoman grunted as the needle perforated her skin, and Tam gentle touched her hair, trying to pass some level of comfort to the super-heroine. She immediately noticed that that wasn't natural hair, as she removed the wig...

– "It's a wig." Tam said.

– "What?" - Tim asked, as he kept treating the wounded heroine.

– "A wig, she uses a wig..." - Tam said, holding the object in her hand. - "I don't understand why, she really has red hair."

Timothy looked at the Ebony Beauty, and said:

– "A subterfuge, probably..." - Tim said, as he kept working.

Tam looked at the heroine, her face not giving any hints as if she was conscious or not. She wiped of some of the sweat on Batwoman's face and the dirty from her mask, and once again, the super-heroine grunted as Tim started to take of the splinters from her wounds. As Batwoman turned her face, Tam noticed the device semi-detached from her mask, that looked like a hands-free radio, that appeared to be turned on. She detached the device from the mask, and put to her ear, trying to see if it was broadcasting.

– "Hum, Tim, her comm is active." - She said.

– "Let me see that." - He asked, picking up the device from her hand, and inspecting it.

He played with it for a moment, and put to his ear, hearing a male voice repeat:

-== _...tzzz you listening? Come in, soldier tzzz _==- the comm transmitted.

– "Batwoman is unconscious at the moment." - Tim said, in his Red Robin voice.

He got silence on the radio for a moment, and believing that whoever was on the other side would not answer unless he identified himself, he spoke:

– "This is Red Robin. I spotted Batwoman in a fight against armed men" - Tim said. - "She got injured and I extracted her from the combat zone."

After a few seconds of silence, the man on the comm replied:

-== _How serious are her injuries?_ ==- The man asked.

– "She had explosions fragments on her abdomen and was pierced by a larger piece of wood that I removed at the site. She lost blood, and I'm testing her to determine her blood type."

- == _She's O Negative._ ==- the man replied. - == _Where is she now?_ ==-

– "I brought her to my base. I have a fully equipped sickbay, Mister..." - Tim said, giving in the chance for the man to identify himself.

Again, silence on the other side. But this time, Batwoman murmured something...Tam, that was closer, listened in, and reported:

– "Tim, she called him Colonel, and I think he's her dad." - Tam said...

He nodded, glancing momentarily at the red-haired crime-fighter, and said on the radio:

– "Colonel, Sir... Your daughter will be ok, I'll pass it to my assistant now, because I have to sew up these wounds." - Tim said, passing the radio to Tam, as he kept treating Batwoman's wound. - "Tam, set up a meeting on his residence. I'm picking him up as soon as I have her stabilized."

Tamara just nodded and went on to talk to the Colonel as Timothy kept treating the red-haired heroine...

* * *

[Hours later]

The first thing **Kate Kane** noticed as she woke up was the daylight. She still felt kind of numb and weak, but she could discern the pastel colors on the wall, the paintings with nautical motives and the modern, Swedish design of the furniture. She could see the bay from the big tinted windows, and she could see Metropolis skyline on the other side of the bay. She looked at herself, and noticed that she wasn't wearing her batsuit. She tried to get up, just to feel the pain on her abdomen, what discouraged her from doing it so.

Kate looked under the sheets and unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing (a man's shirt, she noticed), and saw the bandages covering her midsection. She also noticed that she was wearing panties that were not hers, and she looked around, trying to figure it out just what the heck was happening. The sound of the door knob being twisted caught her attention, as she looked pointedly at the door. The person who entered the room left her shocked.

– "Tim Wayne?" - Kane said, surprise, as he was one of the last people she expected to see...

– "Good morning, Miss Kane." - Timothy replied, cheerfully, with a tray in his hands. - "How are you feeling?"

– "A bit numb... where am I?" - Kate asked, keenly aware that he knew her name, watching as Wayne put the tray on the nightstand.

– "You're in my house." - he said, and grabbed the sheet, uncovering her body

Kate gave him a hard stare, and he said, unfazed:

– "I'm only checking your bandages, Miss Kane." - Timothy said, and with a smirk, he added- "Don't worry, I'm not going to take advantage of you. My fiancé even provided the undergarment to make sure that I don't get tempted."

The redhead woman gave Tim a dirty stare, and he said:

– "Just joking. Colonel Kane would rip my head off, if you didn't do it first, of course." - Tim said, as he examined the bandages, taking it off to take a look at the sutures. - "But my fiancé did provide the panties. Well, it looks good... the sutures, I mean."

– "What happened?" - Kate asked

– "One of the thugs pulled a rocket launcher on you." - Tim said, covering her back, moving to the tray. - "Good thing I was around the area. Would you like some tea?"

– "You were in the area..." - She repeated, suspicious.

– "Well, not dressed like this, of course..." - Tim replied, pouring some tea on the cup - "You're not the only one with a fetish for black leather and jumping rooftops."

He offered her the cup, and Timothy placed the tray on the bed. As she kept looking at him, obviously waiting for more information, he said:

– "In the battlefield, you know me as Red Robin." - Tim informed, as he kept offering her the cup.

– "You're Red Robin?" - Kate asked, skeptic.

– "Hard to believe that the Bachelor Heir of the Wayne family would have a double life as a superhero, huh?" - Tim said, sarcastically - "It's so surreal, kind of thinking that the step-daughter to Gotham's most prominent socialite _alternative lifestyle _deepest secret would not involve wild parties and other women, but bulletproof leather and jumping from rooftops..."

– "Point taken..." - Kate replied, as she accepted the cup.

Timothy smiled with satisfaction, he moved the tray over his guest lap in the bed. He pointed to the cellphone on the tray, and said

– "By the way, your father said that he's coming back from Savannah already." - He informed - "He knows you're alive and well, and he will call here as soon as he lands. Me made me promise that I would have you call him as soon as you woke up"

– "Thank you." - Kate said. - "The Colonel can be a bit overzealous from time to time. Specially since I kind of died before..."

– "In our line of work, there is nothing wrong with a little overzealousiness from time to time." - Tim replied - "And about the Lazarus Pit, lets just say that you're far from being the first one in Gotham to take a dive in one of those, but I can sympathize..."

The door opened at that moment, and Kate saw a young black woman come in, that seemed familiar to her. Tamara looked at the red-haired super-heroine, and she said:

– "Oh, you're awake. I'm glad." - Tam said, and looking at Tim, she said, handing him the leg braces. - "Tim, quick, My dad is coming by to check on you!"

– "Oh, boy..." - Tim said, his smile giving away to a expression of nuisance... - "Your dad seriously think that a guy that just got shot and can barely walk can be ravishing his daughter virginal body?"

– "Considering that he probably thinks that I'm still a virgin, yes..." - Tam replied, hugging from behind - "Tiffany probably thinks that you're the one in danger of being ravished by me."

– "Now, that's closer to the truth..." - Timothy replied, smugly, earning a mock punch on the arm by his Ebony Beauty

Kate observed with some amusement the exchange between the two young adults. Then, she remembered that Tim Wayne had suffered an attempt on his life not about a week and a half ago, and he was supposedly on rehabilitation for the next several months. She looked as Timothy sat and started to strap in the braces, and said:

– "Some miraculous recovery that was, Mr. Wayne..." - The redhead woman said, with sarcasm - "Getting shot and almost dying in front of God and everyone else, and saving fellow superheroes from certain death one week later. The most impressive part was that Red Robin apprehended the assassin himself... "

– "A necessary ruse, since our first one didn't quite work." - Tam replied, as she looked in to her PDA - "Quick, Tim, his car is two blocks away."

– "And a serious one too... I've read that the doctors believe that you're going to stay on those for a year, maybe too.." - Kate said. - "Whomever was onto you must have been pretty close to finding out about your leather fetish..."

– "Lets just say that noisy reporters are not a exclusivity of the shining towers across the bay" - Tim said, giving a quick glance to Metropolis from his windows - "I'm just glad that I'm not dealing with Lois Lane..."

– "If she lived here, I would move to Chicago..." - Kate replied, chuckling.

– "Time's up, Tim!" - Tam, replied, as she turned off her PDA and held the door for him.

Timothy walked, already in the act, as if he really needed the crutches to move around, and approaching the door, he got closer to Tamara, in a intimate way, Kate noted:

– "Why don't you help Kate to dress up?" - Tim suggested, with a gentle tone - "I will keep your father busy."

– "Okay... be careful." - she said, getting closer to touch his face with her and and give him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Kate observed with a certain degree of amusement as the couple exchanged another peck before Wayne left the room, and she was left alone with the girl... Kane noticed that the girl felt a bit awkward (and looked particularly cute like that), and offered her hand:

– "Kate Kane, nice to meet you." - She said.

– "Tamara Fox, but everyone call's me Tam. Nice to meet you too." - Tam replied.

– "So, Tam, are you in the _Rooftop Jumping Leather Club_ too?" - Kate asked as she tried to stand up.

– "Not exactly." - Tam replied, as she helped the redhead to stand up – "I'm in the _Targeted by Freak-Assassins and Black Ninjas Club_."

If Timothy were in the room he would probably have laughed at the shocked expression that the super-heroine made.

* * *

[By Sundown]

Kate Kane was seating in one of the chairs on the terrace, overlooking the lights on the cruisers that were anchored at the bay, and the lights of Metropolis, that looked cheerfully shiny even as the night started. She had her laptop with her, as her dad, the Colonel, had brought her once the sense of urgency to see his wounded daughter dialed down after she spoke with him on the phone, and she convinced him to go by her apartment first and get some clothes and some equipment. Much to her annoyance, the Colonel had extracted from her hosts a promise not to let her go out on duty until she had a clean bill of health.

What Colonel Kane didn't know was that the Young Mr. Wayne had close contact with the most prominent super-hero physician in the world, Dr. Mid-Nite, that examined her via computer, and passed on to his _costume buddy_ Red Robin a most miraculous treatment guideline, including some nanotechnology that the good doctor had insisted that the Crimson Knight included in his sickbay (which design had the counseling of Mid-Nite himself), and that was working wonders in her injuries. She would probably be back in action in 24 hours or so.

In the meantime, Kate was doing her intelligence report on the Criminals she fought on the Narrows, with some very much appreciated help from the Oracle herself, who apparently had a very close relation with the Young Mister Wayne. Kate knew the Bat-clan enough to know that the first Robin and former Nightwing was the Batman now (he had hit on her twice, and still hadn't got the clue), that there was a second Robin that was thought dead and now was a murderous vigilante, and that the new Boy Wonder was a kid, leaving Robin III as the logical explanation for Red Robin.

Timothy Wayne, former Robin... Kate knew the implications, she had a pretty good idea of who the new Batman was, she knew that the first Batman was dead for a fact, and given that his host was the controlling shareholder of Wayne Enterprises, adding the fact that the people that knew Bruce Wayne noticed that he seemed more than a bit off, she had a pretty good hunch about who the original Batman was and some very colorful theories as to who was the man passing as Bruce Wayne, and none of those theories were good...

Another thing that Kate didn't know what to make of was the relationship between her two young hosts. She thought at first that _Waynegagement_ was a publicity stunt, and after learning about Wayne's double life she theorized that this must have been the first ruse to take the reporter, Vicky Vale, off his trail (and as Tam said herself, didn't work, hence the crutches and braces). But now, after spending half a day in their company, and noticing the way they look at each other and the way they behaved around each other, she believed that there was something more to it... Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed the approaching footsteps. She noticed trough the glass reflex Tim Wayne, without the crutches, braces and without his _fiancé_, come up the stairs.

– "Where is the fair miss Fox?" - She asked, with a hint of malice.

– "Tam left on some errands of her own..." - He replied - "Probably she went to do a follow up with her sister after her dad's visit. She want's to make sure that he doesn't get the wrong idea about her living here with me."

– "I don't know, but it looked to me like she wants the wrong idea to happen..." - the Redhead replied – "And by the way you act around her, I don't think you would mind it either."

– "That obvious, huh?" - Wayne asked.

She nodded her head, with a sympathetic look on her face.

– "So... you're out of the act for the rest of the day?" - Kate asked looking pointedly at his legs.

– "Yep... And not a moment too soon." - Timothy replied. He noticed the screen on her laptop and said - "Doing some homework, I see."

– "The Colonel was pretty mad that I was caught so easily last night." - the redhead replied - "It was pretty stupid not to inspect their cargo before trying to take them down."

– "Don't feel so bad about it. God knows I had my share of stupidity." - Tim said, as he sat besides her on the sofa.

He pointed at her belly, and Kate moved the computer away, unbuttoning her shirt, revealing her bandages. Timothy lifted the bandages with utmost care, and inspected the wound, putting the bandage back in place after that. Kate looked with mild amusement at that man that was many years younger than her, but that had such a mature _aura_ that she knew only tragedy could bring to a person.

– "So, doctor, will I be allowed in a sunbathing bikini anytime soon?" - Kane asked, with a bit of teasing.

– "Definitively yes. The sutures are all healed, and whatever little scar remains should be gone within 72 hours." - He replied, a bit flustered, but trying to remain a gentleman - "That will be a battle scar you wont get to keep it."

– "I already have too many of those." - She replied, and kept teasing, just because she was having fun with the way he got flustered - "I'd rather save space for some love scratches for a change. You know how us girls love to run our long manicured nails on flesh."

Timothy felt his collar a bit too tight, as he ran a finger to loose it up, and he felt the redness on his cheeks. He was capable of taking down a international criminal organization and a gang of super-assassins by himself, but being teased by a older, and beautiful woman was enough to make him red, even thought he was knew that said woman had a taste for the fair sex... At that moment, something flickered on Timothy's mind:

– "Yeah... changing the topic a bit.. is it true that Batman made a pass on you after you both brought down that zombie?" - Tim asked...

– "You mean the new Batman? Yes, its true... that was the second time, but I don't think he realized that." - Kate said - "The first one was when he was still Nightwing, and as matter of fact, he wasn't even wearing a mask..."

– "You mean..." - Tim asked, not very surprised that Batwoman knew the Dick's identity, after all...

– "Mr. Richard '_Dick' _Grayson made a pass on me in Bludhaven, years ago..." - Kate replied - "I can't blame him for doing again, after all, he didn't know who he was talking to, and he did confess he has a thing for redheads... what explain he's being around the Commissioner's daughter a lot."

Kate watched amused as Tim brought palmed his face, nodding his head in negative...

– "Dick, Dick, Dick... He never learns..." - Tim said, looking at his guest with a amused face.

Kate's face became serious again, as she anticipated the real hard question...

– "Tim, I know that the first Batman is dead, and I'm pretty sure now that I know who he was." - she started - "So, I do have to ask... Who exactly is that guy parading around town as Bruce Wayne?"

Timothy became serious again. He rose from the couch and looked at the pier. Katherine rose from the chair, and stepped besides him, as she felt that that was something big that he was considering if he trusted her enough to let her in or not. After a moment of silence, she heard his voice:

– "His name is Thomas Elliot, but you must have heard of him as Hush." - Tim said.

– "I've heard the name, yes, and I was advised that he's a very dangerous individual." - Kate replied.

– "And you have been advised right. Hush is one of the deadliest foes of Batman." - He said. - "He killed many people, hurt many, many others, he knows who both Batmans are, who all the Robins are, who I am, and probably a few others."

– "But, why did you let him roam free like that if he's so dangerous." - She asked.

– "Bad timing. After Batman disappeared, and we were too busy saving the city from the criminals, he took the place of Bruce and kept him alive in the spotlight." - Tim said - "We couldn't take him out, and we couldn't replace him, so now we keep him under surveillance and in a tight leash."

– "That's a bad plan." - Kate replied.

– "A temporary one... Bruce's return will neutralize Hush." - Wayne replied.

Kate looked at him surprised, and said:

– "What do you mean by _Bruce's return_?" - She asked - "He's dead, isn't?"

- "You haven't been in the JLA briefing recently, have you?" - He asked, and as she looked confused, he explained - "Batman is not dead. He's lost in time. Darkseid didn't kill him, he threw him out of his time, and now he's coming back, unless we stop him."

– "Stop him?" - Kate repeated.

– "Long story." - Tim said, turning around - "I'll tell you while I fix some dinner for us. Tam will probably eat with her father, so we have the frozen food trays, I hope you don't mind..."

- "My friend, after you live on dried rations and barracks grub, you eat anything..." - Kate replied. - "I don't care what we're eating, as long as I don't have to peel off potatoes.."

- "Don't worry, the french fries are frozen too.." - Tim replied, cheerfully.

- "Oh, God... _Frat Food_... I hope I fit into my suit after that..." - She joked

- "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that a few runs on the rooftops will burn those calories.." - Timothy replied.

Tim smiled amused, as he led his guest down the stairs...

**

* * *

THE END**

15


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